Soul Calibur II From Link's Point of View
by GundamWingFanatic90
Summary: Like the title says. Soul Calibur II from Link's POV. Starts out in Hyrule, tells how Link got to Earth, and on and on. WIP, but sadly, put on hiatus for the moment. Sorry! PG 13 to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

Hi. This is my first Soul Calibur 2 story. Please do not sue me. Feel free to Read and Review, and feel free to flame me, though I might not respond kindly to flames. I will do my best to write a Q/A session thingy at the beginning of each chapter. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Calibur 2, or Link, or anything in this fic. Only the plot is mine. Enjoy!

SOUL CALIBUR II FROM LINK'S POINT OF VIEW

Chapter 1

"Zelda. I need to speak with you alone." Link said to his wife one day. Princess Zelda looked slightly confused for a moment, then quickly finished the letter she was writing. After the defeat of Ganondorf and the disappearance of the Triforce of Power, Link and Zelda had been married. Ganon had cast a spell on them when he had died, causing them to do something they hadn't wanted to do before they were married, and now Zelda suspected she was pregnant. An evil magician had come shortly after Ganondorf's defeat, bringing calamities and ominous, dark clouds that blotted out the sun. Link had just defeated the magician a few days before, and the sun returned. But now, from the look on Link's face, something evil was stirring again. Zelda got up from her desk in Hyrule Castle's library and followed Link out to the inner courtyard, where they had first met 7 years before.

"Link, what is it?" she asked, a frown creasing her forehead as they sat down on the steps.

"That magician wasn't acting of his own free will when he brought those clouds." Link explained. "An evil sword called Soul Edge has a will of its own, and was controlling the magician. The blade exists in another world, and though Soul Edge has been shattered, it is coming back together."

Zelda's frown deepened with concern and the ominous tidings that Link had brought.

"How do you know this?" she asked him, her right hand on his left one, feeling the comforting aura of his Triforce.

"I had to talk to the Great Fairy atop Death Mountain, for I sensed that something was amiss." he said, shaking his head. "She confirmed that what I felt was true, and she explained to me what was happening in this other world."

Zelda hung her head in sorrow and concern.

"Soul Edge's shards are gathering together in the other world, Zelda." Link said, tilting his head to look into his wife's beautiful blue eyes. "The blade's resurrection must be prevented at any and all cost, lest destruction and turmoil reign in all lands, and the peace that we have worked so hard to earn and protect be destroyed."

Zelda looked up at her husband as his hand tightened on hers. She was surprised to see a hint of tears in his midnight-blue eyes. She leaned into his arms, and wrapped hers around him, listening to the steady beating of his heart and being comforted by the sound. The sound that had almost permanently ceased during the battle with Ganondorf.

"I must leave this world and go to find this evil sword. I must destroy it at all costs. This is my duty as the Hero of Time. I must protect the people of Hyrule, even at the cost of my own life."

Later that night, Zelda watched her beloved husband sleep next to her in their room in the Castle. He'd be leaving for the other world in the morning. His trusted weapons were packed by the door. The only thing he hadn't packed yet was the Ocarina of Time. It lay on the nightstand next to the Fairy Ocarina, which his childhood friend and one of the 7 Sages, Saria, had given to him 7 years ago. Zelda drew a shuddering breath and moved closer to his sleeping form. This may well be the last time she saw him sleeping. She watched him, fixing his relaxed expression into her memory, the way his long, golden hair fell across his face, the way his muscles gently rippled under his suntanned skin. She wrapped her arms around him and snuggled up even closer. Her movements woke him and he looked groggily into her face.

"Zelda? Is everything ok?" he asked, yawning. She nodded, but her eyes blurred with tears and her throat constricted as she tried to hold them back. He saw this and concern creased his features, all sleepiness forgotten.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking into her eyes as best he could in the darkness of night. She drew a deep, shuddering breath.

"What if you don't come back?" she asked croakily. "What if you die in that other world and I never see you again? I don't think I could live like that."

"Zelda…" he murmured. He put a few fingers under her chin and tilted her face upwards so she could look into his eyes. He gently kissed her and reassuringly put an arm around her. She started to quietly cry, and he pulled her closer to him, wrapping both his arms around her sobbing frame.

"Shhh…" he said, holding her close. "Don't worry. I'll come home safely. I'll write to you as often as I can, ok?"

"How will you do that if you're in another world?" she asked, chuckling a little through her sobs.

"Ummm… I don't know, but I'm sure I can use some of the Ocarina's magic to get it to you." he said, causing her to chuckle a little more. Her sobs soon quieted and she stopped crying.

"There. That's better." he said, letting her go a little. However, she clung to him like a child, holding him tightly. He smiled softly and pulled his arms tight around her. Then they fell asleep again, content to let their troubles rest until the morning.

Link awoke before the sun and climbed out of bed, careful not to disturb Zelda. He dressed silently as the sun rose and its first rays started to peek in through the shutters of their window. Leggings, undershirt, Kokiri Tunic, belt, gauntlets, and boots went on, then he started to put his Master Sword's scabbard belt across his chest. After that was on, he started to reach for his other weapons and supplies, but they weren't where he had left them the night before. Suddenly he felt someone's arms around his shoulders and his quiver strap slipped on over his head. He held back a slight chuckle and put his hands over Zelda's arms.

"Were you planning on leaving without saying goodbye, dear husband of mine?" he heard her say. He shook his head.

"No. I was planning on waking you up right before I left to say goodbye." he said, turning around and looking into her eyes. She smiled sadly.

"I don't want you to leave." she suddenly exclaimed, and tears sprang into her eyes and streamed down the sides of her face.

"Zelda, please don't cry." he said, his own voice breaking. Tears sprang to his eyes, too, and he closed them tightly, determined that the tears would not fall.

"I'm sorry, Link. But I can't help but feel that you're going to your death." she said, her voice choked and breaking, and he opened his now wet eyes. He bent down to his feet and picked up the remainder of his weapons and supplies. He put his shield on, hanging off of the Master Sword's scabbard, then he put the rest of his weapons in easily accessible places under his shield. He put his four glass bottles under there, too. One contained a Red Potion, another, a Green Potion, and the other two, fairies. Lastly he crossed the room to their nightstand and picked the two Ocarinas up. Then he walked back to Zelda. He looked at the Ocarinas for a moment before looking up at his wife. He extended his left hand, the one with the Fairy Ocarina in it, to her.

"Any time you wish to speak with me, play the **Melody of the Royal Family**. Play **Zelda's Lullaby**." he said to her. She took the Fairy Ocarina in her right hand, then placed her left hand in his. Their hands glowed golden, and the symbols of the Triforce appeared on their hands again, the Triforces reacting to each other.

"And any time you wish to speak to me, do the same." she replied. "And always remember where you come from. Always remember me. Remember us." She placed two fingers on his left ring finger, then fingered her own, where a golden band was present. Link's wedding band was hidden under his brown leather gauntlets, but was nonetheless there. He bent once more and picked up the Master Sword from where it had been leaning up against the wall, and sheathed the blade, its hilt familiar in his hand.

"I'd never be able to forget you or Hyrule." he said, and took her hands in his. "I'd never choose anything over this." And with that he kissed her, a deep, loving kiss, one of a husband leaving his wife for a battle from which he might never return. Soon they released each other, and Link reached over to where his hat hung on a peg on the wall. He pulled it off of the peg and pulled it on, the majority of his hair going inside it so that only his bangs, ears, and a small amount of the hair around his ears and on the back of his neck were visible. Suddenly they both heard a ringing, swooshing sound, and something flew out from the folds of his hat, where he had doubled it over so that it didn't get in the way. The something was glowing blue and had wings.

"You didn't think you could go to another world without me knowing, did you?" the thing said. It was Navi, Link's old partner and guardian fairy. She buzzed around his and Zelda's heads, and he laughed.

"Navi?! But I thought you left!" he exclaimed. The fairy made a ringing sound and flew up into his face so that he had to lean back a little.

"I had to take care of some business with the Deku Sprout. I didn't leave for good!" she scolded, and Zelda laughed a little.

"Just as I first saw you in the Inner Courtyard. A boy from the Kokiri Forest with a fairy flying around his head." she said, but her voice was sad. "I guess you aren't that innocent anymore. You aren't the little boy I knew 7 years ago. And you aren't the half-grown young man I found at the Temple of Time all those weeks ago. You've really grown into your role as Hero of Time, Link." Both Link and Navi looked at Zelda, and she smiled sadly. "Come on. You'd best be going." she said.

Link nodded. Zelda dressed quickly, and they headed down and out into the town. They walked through the streets, then up the paved path to the Temple of Time. They walked through the large stone cathedral and past the stone altar, where the three Spiritual Stones still floated under a golden, glowing symbol of the Triforce, then they walked through the Door of Time. When they were standing around the stone pedestal where the Master Sword once rested, Link pulled her into one last embrace. Then he withdrew the Ocarina of Time from where he had put it under his shield. He put the mouthpiece to his lips, and, with one last look at Zelda, began to play. A sweet melody echoed around the chamber and out into the cathedral beyond. A sweet melody that spoke of time and its constant motion, its never-ending flow. A sweet melody that told the tale of history, of legends that had been born and had died, of people becoming legends and heroes in their own lifetimes. A melody that sang of births and deaths, of love and sadness, of good times and bad. The **Song of Time**. A blue light surrounded and engulfed Link as he finished playing, and he looked at his beloved wife one last time before he was swept away in a blue crystal, soaring through time and space. He closed his eyes against the whirling colors and lights, and succumbed to rest. He would need his strength before long.

Link awoke before long, as he felt himself descending. He looked around through the blue light that surrounded him, a little disoriented by his surroundings at first. After a second his feet touched the ground and the blue light faded. He put the Ocarina of Time back under his shield and drew the Master Sword. Who knew what this new world might be like? As an afterthought, he also pulled his shield off of the sheath. He would need it if he would need his sword. He felt a faint echo of evil coming from the east, so he started to walk in that direction, every sense alert for signs of an attack.

He had been walking for several hours, and had put his sword and shield away before he finally heard something. There was a rustling in some bushes to his right. He pretended to ignore it, and kept walking. Whatever it was, he was confident that he could fend it off or kill it. He was almost past the area when someone charged out of the bushes, which were a little behind him, and jumped in front of him, brandishing a curved sword. The strange man, for it was a man, was wearing a cloth wrapped around his head, and had 'bandit' and 'thief' written all over in his posture and gestures. Link heard more sound behind him, and knew that he was surrounded. He sighed and withdrew his sword and shield. He'd only been in this new world for a few hours and already he was being attacked. This was going to be one heck of a journey.

A young girl of about 15 years walked along a road, heading to the east. She held a pair of Elbow Blades, or Tonfa, in her hands, and she held a peculiar metal fragment in one of them. Her name was Talim. She thought as she walked, wondering about the strange blue light she had seen a few hours earlier, wondering what had caused it. Suddenly she heard the clanging of metal ahead on the road, and she quickly pocketed the metal fragment before gripping her Elbow Blades tightly and running ahead. The sight that greeted her eyes was not a welcome one. About 6 bandits had attacked an oddly dressed man. The man wore a green tunic and a green, hood-like hat, and he fought with a strange sword and a heavy looking shield. He was on the defensive for the moment, and one of the bandits- he looked like the leader- was attacking the stranger. The other 5 bandits were grouped around the combatants in a circle, and the leader seemed to be toying with the strange man. Talim was about to rush in and help the stranger, but he suddenly rammed the lead bandit with his shield. Then he kicked backwards as one of the other 5 ran at him in a rage, and he thrust his sword to his right, impaling another bandit that was attempting an attack. The man quickly blocked an attack from a bandit to his left and did a back flip, soaring over another as he tried to cut off the stranger's head. He turned back to the leader, who was coming at the stranger, sword raised in an attack position. The stranger did not see the 5th and last bandit coming up behind him, however, drawing a throwing knife out of a pocket.

"BEHIND YOU!!" Talim shouted. The stranger whirled around at her shout, startled by the sudden noise, and raised his shield, blocking the thrown knife. He crouched suddenly, holding his sword out slightly behind him to his left. After a split second the sword started to glow blue, then a millisecond later, it glowed gold, and the stranger spun around, so fast that his sword left a blazing after image behind it. The leader of the bandits and the knife-thrower fell backwards, hewn in two by the force of the blow. As all of the bandits lay either dead or unconscious around him, the stranger wiped his blade on one of the bandits' shirts. Then he turned his blue-eyed gaze to Talim as he walked over to her.

* * *

Whoa... a cliffie on my first try... Mu hu ha ha ha ha ha!! Stay tuned for the next chappie!! 


	2. Chapter 2

SOUL CALIBUR II FROM LINK'S POINT OF VIEW

Chapter 2

Talim watched the stranger walk over to her, and raised her Elbow Blades into a defensive position. If he attacked, she would be ready. The stranger walked right up to her, and she saw the alertness in his eyes and his posture.

"_Mellon_ or _umellon_?" he said, confusing her. Seeing this, he looked thoughtful for a second before speaking again.

"Are you friend or foe?" he asked. It was a second before she guardedly replied.

"It depends on which you are." she said.

"I sense an evil aura about you." he said. "But you do not appear to be so. Tell me, child. What is your name?"

"Give me yours first."

The stranger laughed a little.

"My name is Link." he replied. "Might I ask also if you have ever heard of a sword called Soul Edge?"

"My name is Talim." she said. "And no, I have never heard of a sword called Soul Edge."

"Then what is that fragment of metal in your pocket?" Link asked, sheathing his sword and putting his shield away. "For I sense in it the same evil aura of the sword I seek to destroy. May I see the fragment for a moment?"

Talim hesitated for a moment before pulling the piece of metal from her pocket. Link studied it for a moment, a frown creasing his forehead, before he nodded and she put it away.

"That is definitely a fragment of Soul Edge." he said. "If you'll trust me, we can sit down and I'll tell you why I am here, in this strange world."

"So you were the cause of the blue light that I saw earlier?" she asked as they sat down on the side of the road, away from the remains of the bandits. Link nodded.

"Yes. I hail from a land called Hyrule." he explained, and pulled a strange blue thing out from under his shield. "The land itself and its inhabitants are peaceful. However, a few weeks ago, that peace was shattered by the arrival of several disasters. The calamities brought dark, ominous clouds that shut out the sun. Surprisingly, a magician was to blame for the disasters. I defeated the magician, and the clouds cleared and the sun came back. However, it came to light that the magician responsible for the disasters was in fact controlled by an evil sword called Soul Edge, which existed in another world. And, to make things worse, the fragments of Soul Edge were gathering together in this other world."

He held up the strange blue thing.

"So I came here, using this Ocarina, to destroy Soul Edge and prevent its resurrection. At all costs." he finished his story and put the Ocarina away, then got up and stretched. They suddenly heard voices from around the last bend in the road, and a second later a group of people rounded the bend. They carried various weapons ranging from a staff with a blade at the end to a short sword and small shield. They had obviously heard the clanging of Link's weapons on the bandits' swords, because they walked warily, as if expecting an attack. When they saw Link and Talim, they stopped.

"Who are you?" the girl in the front of the group asked. She had blond hair and carried a short sword and a small shield with an odd design on it. Link was about to speak, but Talim stood up and spoke before he could even utter a word.

"I am Talim and this is my friend, Link. And who are you?" she asked, bringing her Elbow Blades up into a defensive position.

"I am Cassandra." the girl, Cassandra, replied. Before Talim could speak again, Link stepped forward.

"Have you ever heard of a sword called Soul Edge?" he asked. Cassandra's expression turned to one of mixed emotions, and so did the faces of her companions. She nodded.

"Yes. We seek to destroy it." she said. Link's expression turned to one of relief and Talim put her Elbow Blades down.

"Wedo too." he said, relieved that they all had the same goal. "I am trying to destroy it to save my homeland."

"And I am trying to destroy it so that the world will be at peace again." Talim said, stepping up next to Link. Cassandra nodded. She stepped back among her comrades.

"Then why don't you travel with us?" she asked. Her companions echoed her question. Link and Talim nodded.

"Alright, then. How 'bout it?" they said at the same time. The company in front of them nodded.

"Welcome to the party." they said in unison. A man in strange armor and a woman in a skin-tight suit with two swords stepped forward.

"I am Mitsurugi." said the man, Mitsurugi.

"I am Taki." said the woman, Taki. They stepped back, and a man with short black hair and a woman with a thin sword stepped forward.

"I am Maxi." said the man, Maxi.

"I am Xianghua." the woman, Xianghua, announced confidently. Lastly, a woman- the one with the staff with a blade on the end- stepped forward.

"And I am Seung Mina. Pleased to meet both of you." she said. Link and Talim nodded.

"Pleased to meet you all, too." they said in unison. Then the rather large group started to walk eastwards again, talking and laughing, but always on guard.

The group halted their walking at night, when it grew too dark to see where they were going. While Taki and Mitsurugi built a campfire, the others all rolled out their bedrolls. All except for Link, that is.

"Hey, don't you have a bedroll, Link?" Talim asked as she rolled hers out next to where he sat, examining his shield. He looked over at her and shook his head.

"Nope. Don't need one." he replied. By now Taki and Mitsurugi had gotten a nice, large fire blazing in the pit they had dug out and ringed with stones, carefully clearing away the brush and dead leaves. Considering there were few trees about, there was a lot of dead leaf litter, hinting that the place in which the party was now camping had once been a forest, or at least a glade surrounded by trees. Link stood up and walked to the very edge of the firelight, looking up into the heavens. As the rest of the party sat around the fire swapping stories and telling tales, he thought of Hyrule and of Zelda, whom he already missed like the day misses the night. He continued to gaze out to the stars until he faintly registered someone calling his name.

"Link… Link…" the voice said. He turned towards the rest of the party. They were all starting to settle down for the night. Talim was calling his name and beckoning for him to come over to her. He walked silently over to stand next to where she was laying.

"Link, you need to get some sleep." she said, looking up at him. He smiled a little.

"You need it more, Talim." he said. "Don't worry. I'll go to sleep when it comes to me, but for the moment it eludes me."

"Ok, but if you don't get enough sleep tonight, don't be all grumpy in the morning." she said, and turned away from him, lying on her side. After about 15 minutes she turned back over and looked up at him.

"Can't sleep?" he asked. He was looking up at the stars again, and didn't look down at her as he spoke.

"No. I can't seem to even close my eyes for 5 minutes without them springing open." she replied. "I'm so tired I want nothing more than to just fall asleep for as long as possible, but I'm so excited at the same time. I just can't go to sleep."

Link listened to her predicament as he watched the stars. When she was done speaking, he looked back down at her and then around at the rest of the group. They were all watching him. He sighed.

"Same problem?" he asked all of them. Every one of them nodded. He sighed again, then bent down over his shield where he had set it, leaning it against one of the scant trees that grew where they were camped. Slowly he withdrew the blue Ocarina that he had shown Talim earlier, then he straightened up again and stood next to where the 15-year-old was lying.

"What is that?" asked Seung Mina. Her question was echoed by more than half the party, who had never seen an Ocarina before.

"This is the Ocarina of Time." Link explained, sitting down with his back against the tree. "I've used it many times before. It has magical powers, like the Fairy Ocarina that I left with Zelda, my wife. I guess I'll play you a song to help you fall asleep. Zelda's old nurse, Impa, used to sing it to her every night as a lullaby when she was a child." And with that, he put his lips to the mouthpiece and blew. A sweet note echoed softly through the campsite. He moved his fingers across the holes, raising a couple of fingers and pressing others down, and the notes changed pitch to become entirely different notes. The song that he played sang of sleep, sang of good dreams, of the comfort of a home, of a loving person watching over you. It spoke of nobility and power, too, and yet gentleness and tenderness and a soft heart. The Ocarina's soft sound played for several moments, and then it died and Link looked around at his companions. They were all fast asleep, having been lulled into sleep and dreams by the **Melody of the Royal Family**. By **Zelda's Lullaby**. Link smiled softly to himself, then looked at the Ocarina in his hands. He reached out toward it with his senses, and felt the magical power in the instrument. He concentrated on it, causing it to well up and become active. He put his lips to the mouthpiece and blew again. He played **Zelda's Lullaby** again, not just as a lullaby this time, but to contact a special person. His wife, Zelda.

He felt her become aware of his calling, felt her mind focus on his.

**_Link? Is that you?_** she asked him mentally.

**_Yes, Zelda. It's me._**

**_Are you alright? You sound sad._** Her mental voice held a lot of concern in it, and Link could picture her face clearly.

**_I miss you._** he replied wearily. **_And I can't sleep._** He heard her chuckle sadly.

**_I miss you, too, Link, but you have to be strong. As for the 'can't sleep' part, I think we can fix that._** He felt her concentrate harder, and a mental image of her formed seemingly in front of his eyes. The mental image leaned forward and kissed him gently. When she pulled away, he was asleep.

**_Goodnight, Link. Have sweet dreams, and do not tarry long on your quest. _**she mentally told him. He vaguely nodded his head, and she herself slipped away, being lulled into sleep. In his sleep he gently clutched the Ocarina of Time in his hand, holding it to his chest, holding it so that it was touching the Master Sword's scabbard belt, which was still strapped around his chest.

Link jerked awake. At first he didn't know what had awoken him, but when he listened very carefully, he was able to discern what it was. There were people moving around the camp, surrounding the party. He silently drew the Master Sword and picked up his shield, and woke Talim, covering her mouth as he did so.

"Link? What is it?" she whispered, feeling around for her Elbow Blades.

"Someone's surrounding us." he whispered as she took a hold on Syi Sarika and Loka Luha, the Elbow Blades. He closed his eyes and listened as well as he could as Talim slowly, silently, crawled over to wake Taki and Mitsurugi, who were nearest. He heard a rustling in the bushes behind him and brought the Master Sword whistling down, its broad side smacking into something. That something shouted 'OW!', and the rest of the camp awoke, all reaching for their weapons. Link quickly reached out and grabbed whoever it was by the shirt and shoved the person up against the tree he had been sleeping against, holding the tip of his sword to the strange man's throat. At the same time, an old man leapt out of the bushes on the other side of the camp, startling Cassandra, Seung Mina, and Xianghua into all holding their blades- staff blade, for Seung Mina- to the man's throat.

"Who are you?! Why were you surrounding us, and how many more of you are out there?!" Link asked the young man in front of him. The young man had reddish-brown hair, and carried a one-handed, curved sword, which was wrapped in cloth. Link suddenly felt a hand on his left forearm, and he looked over to see who was touching him. It was Seung Mina, and she was glaring at the young man before them. She looked up at Link.

"Put him down, Link." she said, and he complied. The young man looked relieved for a second, but that relief was banished when Seung Mina held the tip of her Zanbatou to his throat.

"What's the big idea, Yunsung?!" she shouted at the boy. "First you steal White Storm, and then you try to attack us?! You're acting like a bandit and a thief, you little kid!" she continued, her fury echoed in her voice.

"Hey! I'm not a little kid! I'm 18!" the boy, Yunsung, exclaimed indignantly. "And for your information, I couldn't see you all that well in the dark! I was checking to see if you were friends or enemies!"

"Well, it still doesn't give you the right to stalk us!" Seung Mina shouted at him. Her Zanbatou's blade pressed into his throat, causing a trickle of blood to run down his neck and soak into his red shirt. Link put a hand on Mina's shoulder.

"Let him be, Mina." he said firmly. She turned to look at him. Her glare would've caused lesser men to cower, but Link was no ordinary man. He held her glare until she turned away and withdrew her Zanbatou from Yunsung's neck.

"Just don't do it again, you hear me?" she said, bringing her staff blade up to brandish it in his face. "Otherwise, you might not be as lucky next time." He gulped and nodded, and she withdrew her blade from his throat. Then she turned to the old man, who still had his hands up in a defensive position.

"And who are you?" she said to him.

"My name is Heihachi. I was traveling with Yunsung to find a sword called Soul Edge. You know something of it?" the old man, Heihachi, replied. Link and Mina nodded.

"Yes. We seek to destroy it." he said, putting his sword and shield away. "Why do you search for it?"

"I personally want to destroy it, but Yunsung wants it so that he can protect his country." Heihachi explained. There was a hiss of a sword being drawn out of its sheath, and Yunsung suddenly found the Master Sword at his throat again.

"You want to use it?!" Link hissed, his teeth gritted, his face six inches away from Yunsung's.

"Yes! What's wrong with wanting to use it to help protect your native country?!" the young man shouted. Now Link's sword was pressed up to Yunsung's throat hard enough to draw a trickle of blood.

"Have you any idea what that damned sword does to peoples' souls?!" the blond haired, Elf-like man hissed, barely audible. Yunsung shook his head a fraction.

"It devours them!" Link whispered, his voice harsh in the silence of the night. "It destroys the soul of its wielder, burns their soul until they lose all conscious thought, and then it causes them to murder. To murder innocents to feed Soul Edge's never-ending desire for souls to consume." The whole camp was silent, listening to this tale, this horrid description. None of them, save a few, had ever heard of what Soul Edge truly did to people.

"Do you really think you could save your country- your people- when you don't have a soul yourself?!" Link exclaimed. "Instead of saving them, you'd destroy them! Wielding the sword, you'd be practically invincible, but that would only mean you'd go on killing forever, unable to stop, unable to slake your lust for fresh souls." He ended, and let the silence stretch out until it became unbearable. He put his sword away and released Yunsung's shirt from where he'd gathered it in his hand, pinning the young man up against the tree. Link stepped away from the young man and looked around at the other members of the party, his eyes blazing.

"That's what happened in my land." he exclaimed, narrowing his eyes. "Soul Edge was controlling an evil magician from far away. The man didn't know what he was doing because he didn't have a soul. He used his magic and caused several disasters, and killed many, many people. I can only imagine what happened to the souls of those innocents, and even then, I don't want to. Because if I do, I always remember the sights that I saw. The bloody, mutilated corpses of people that were my friends in my younger days. The destruction..."

Everyone was silent, and Yunsung turned his head away so that he wouldn't have to look at Link's back. The man in the green tunic suddenly whipped around, drawing the Master Sword, and threw it, seemingly at Yunsung. He yelped and held up his wrapped sword to block the thrown blade. However, the blades never clashed against each other. There was a loud 'THUNK!', and Yunsung looked above his head to see that the Master Sword was embedded up to its hilt in the trunk of the tree, impaling a snake that had been slithering down to bite him. He looked back down at Link, his whole body trembling. Yunsung reached up and took hold of the Master Sword's hilt, and pulled as hard as he could. The sword didn't budge an inch. He tried again. Still it didn't move. Seung Mina, Heihachi, and Talim came over and tried pulling it at the same time as Yunsung. It remained stuck fast, sealed in place by the tree's ancient wood. Everyone in the camp except Link came over and tried to pull the sword out, but to no avail. Link covered his mouth with a hand, trying to hide his laughter.

"What're you laughing at, you pointy-eared freak?!" Yunsung exclaimed at Link, his temper rising as he tried to pull the sword out. Link frowned and said something in Hylian.

"Alright. Step away from the sword, all of you." he then ordered. They all looked at him as if he was crazy, then stepped back. Link walked up to the tree, reached up, and took hold of the Master Sword's hilt. He pulled a little, and the sword slid free with a scraping sound. He sheathed the sword and turned to see the rest of the group staring at him, wide-eyed. Yunsung got over it the fastest, though, and crossed his arms as he closed his eyes.

"We just loosened it for you is all. You wouldn't've been able to get it out otherwise." he said, huffing a little. Link growled and said something in Hylian. Even then it didn't sound nice.

"You want to bet on it?" he challenged, his voice a low growl.

"Bring it on!" Yunsung replied, always one to accept a challenge, and Link drew the Master Sword and his Hylian shield as Yunsung unwrapped his sword, which faintly glowed in the moonlight. Then he charged at Link, and the others all jumped away as the two men's swords clashed together, the sound ringing out into the night. Yunsung struck repeatedly, Link blocking every strike with either his sword or his shield. Suddenly they locked blades, their faces inches away from each other.

"I must say. You're pretty good. For a little kid, that is." Link said, and Yunsung growled. He broke the deadlock and tried to strike Link again. He parried with his shield and brought the hilt of the Master Sword bearing down upon Yunsung's head. A dull 'thump' could be heard, and Link stepped away from Yunsung, who was now rubbing his head in pain. He stopped after a second and blocked a strike from Link, and the two continued to fight. Link suddenly held his sword out to his left, a little behind him, and a split second later, it started to glow a bright blue. Talim saw this.

"Everyone back away! He's using a very powerful attack!" she shouted, and everyone else shot her curious glances before starting to back away. She backed up, too, until her back hit a tree. By this time, Link's sword was glowing a bright golden, and he spun around, so fast that his sword left a blazing afterimage behind it. The sword's radius was so large that the golden, slicing light almost hit Cassandra, who was nearest Link. Even so, the earth in a ring about three feet out from Link in all directions was scarred, scorched and burned by the blow. Yunsung, thanks to Talim's warning, had jumped up into the tree to avoid the attack, and Link looked up at the young man as he jumped down, wide-eyed.

"What the hell was that?" he asked breathlessly. However, Link didn't answer. He watched Yunsung, waiting for another attack, which the young man provided in a second after seeing that Link was in a guard position. Yunsung attacked in a flurry of lightning-fast attacks, all of which Link parried or blocked easily. Suddenly he knocked Yunsung back a little and attacked with a jump attack. Yunsung held up his sword and blocked it, but Link quickly recovered with a powerful horizontal strike. Yunsung tried to block it with his sword, the White Storm, but Link's strike was more powerful than Yunsung's grip. The White Storm went whirling off to Link's right, and he pointed the tip of the Master Sword at Yunsung's neck, the young man holding up his hands in surrender.

"Do ye yield?" Link asked triumphantly. Yunsung nodded, his sweaty face glistening in the rekindled firelight. Link smirked. He wasn't out of breath. He wasn't even sweaty. He took the Master Sword away from Yunsung's neck.

"You are pretty good, I have to admit." Link said as the young man wiped his brow and retrieved his sword.

"Good. Now that you two've stopped fighting, you think we could get some more sleep?" Cassandra said agitatedly. "It is the middle of the night, you know." Link and Yunsung blushed a little, and mumbled something, nodding their heads. Then, grumbling, the company went back to bed. Thankfully, Link's and Yunsung's fight hadn't disrupted the camp (except for its inhabitants), so they all went back to their beds and laid down. Yunsung and Heihachi, however, followed Link to the tree where he'd been sleeping before they showed up. Link looked up at them as they approached.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Do you think we can travel with you?" Yunsung asked, looking around at the rest of the group, who were still temporarily awake, and Heihachi nodded in agreement. "I mean, we all have the same goal, here."

"Sure. I don't see why not." Link said after the rest of the group nodded in consent.

"Thanks, all of you." Yunsung said to all of them, and they all murmured, "No problem." or "It's ok." Then Yunsung and Heihachi smiled and laid down near where Link and Talim were. Then everyone fell asleep. A few minutes later, Link woke up again and looked around to make sure everyone was ok. Everyone was asleep, except for Talim. She was looking at Yunsung, a glazed look in her eyes. Link smiled to himself.

_She thinks he's cute…_ he thought as he observed the 15-year-old girl. He pulled out the Ocarina of Time again and played **Zelda's Lullaby**. Talim immediately fell asleep. Then he himself fell asleep, the Ocarina again gently held in his hand, resting on his chest.

The morning dawned cool and clear, and the party rose early to pack camp. They quickly packed their things after a cold, hurried breakfast, and started off early. Link walked in the front, his long ears twitching occasionally, listening to everything around the group. His sharp blue eyes scanned the road in front of him, looking for any signs of danger. At noon they stopped and ate a little, then they continued walking. This time Yunsung walked next to the Hylian.

"So how old are you again?" the young man asked. "I mean, I heard Talim say that you were married, and…" Link looked over at Yunsung, a small bit of annoyance in his eyes.

"I'm 17." the Hylian replied, and Yunsung gaped at him.

"That's a year younger than I am!" he exclaimed, and Link clapped his hands over his ears. In a second he uncovered them, and glared at Yunsung.

"Did you have to shout?" Link asked, his voice a low growl. "Great. Now my ears are ringing…" He grumbled something in Hylian about obnoxious little boys. Yunsung just looked bewildered, but kept walking beside the aggravated Hylian. In a moment Link's ears stopped ringing, and when they did, he heard something he really hadn't wanted to hear: the stringing of bows and the drawing of swords, coming from either side of the group. He stopped so suddenly that Xianghua, who was walking right behind him, ran into him from behind. Yunsung stopped when he noticed that Link had stopped, and looked back to the younger man. Link's eyes were darting from side to side, and his ears were twitching as he listened. Suddenly he heard the sound of an arrow firing and shouted,

"Get down!" as he blocked the arrow with his shield. Everyone hit the deck as a barrage of arrows leaped out from the trees and bushes on either side, Link joining them. As soon as the first barrage was over, bandits and assassins leapt out of the bushes, swords drawn. There were a lot of them. The party quickly drew their weapons and started to fight to defend themselves. It was a hard fight. Link, Talim, and Yunsung fought back to back, while Mina, Xianghua, and Maxi fought the same way. Cassandra, Mitsurugi, Taki, and Heihachi were in another group. All of a sudden a bandit dropped down on Link, Talim, and Yunsung, and they had to break their formation, lest they be squashed. By now the bandits numbered about 10, and they were starting to flee. Link got up from where he had jumped out of the way of the falling bandit and turned around to see him attacking Talim. Link started towards them, but was surprised when another bandit kicked him hard in the stomach, sending him flying backwards into a tree. The bandit that had kicked him bore down upon him like a wildfire, raising his sword to stab Link through. However, the bandit was run through by the Master Sword before his blow could land. Link withdrew his sword from the bandit's belly and started to get up. But fate, it seemed, had a different idea for Link. The bandit, though dying, raised his sword one last time, still continuing to walk towards the Elflike man. He took two stumbling steps, then fell forward, bringing his curved blade forward to rest in Link's stomach.

Link's blue eyes widened with shock and horrendous agony as the bandit's blade went through his green Kokiri Tunic and his flesh, embedding itself in the tree behind him. The bandit that the sword had belonged to slumped over next to Link, dead. Through clouding vision, Link saw another bandit approach Talim from behind while she was preoccupied with another. Raising his arm one last time, Link threw the Master Sword as hard as he could, and it drove itself through the bandit and into the tree behind him. Then Link's head fell forward onto his chest and he fell into blackness, slumping against the tree he was pinned to.

Talim stabbed the remaining bandit through the chest, then wiped Syi Sarika and Loka Luha clean. She looked around at the battlefield. Then, seeing as everyone was done fighting, she called,

"Is everyone ok?" A chorus of voices called, 'Yes!' back to her. However, Link's voice was not among them. Talim looked around, confused, before a glint of metal at the corner of her left eye caught her attention. It was the Master Sword, she saw, and it was embedded up to the hilt in a tree, glowing brightly. A dead bandit was lying at its base, a hole the size of the sword's hilt through his chest.

_Link wouldn't leave his sword in a tree like that…_ Talim thought, then looked to the other side of the road. What she saw made her blood run cold.

"LINK!!" she shouted, and ran over to where he was, slumped against a tree. When she knelt down next to him, she saw that his hand was limp on his shield, and his head was bowed to where his chin touched his chest. She heard a startled exclamation from the rest of the group, and Xianghua was suddenly kneeling next to them.

Link's blood had already stained his tunic crimson, and the sword that had done it was also embedded in the tree behind him. Talim pulled on the sword's hilt, and it came free, causing even more blood to gush from the mortal wound. Jolted from unconsciousness by the sudden removal of the sword, the Hylian cried out in pain. His eyes opened, but Talim didn't notice, her hands clamped over the wound, trying to staunch the flow of blood.

"Talim…" he said weakly- even speaking took a great effort. Her gaze snapped up.

"Link! It's ok! You'll be fine!" she said in an effort to reassure him. He shook his head, then put his hand on her forearm.

"I should've died a long time ago at the hands of Ganondorf. Let me go." he whispered hoarsely, and she stared into his clouded eyes, disbelieving. Suddenly finding a small amount of strength in his muscles, he pushed her arm off of his stomach. Xianghua put her hands on Talim's shoulders and led her away from Link's dying form. However, Yunsung soon moved towards the younger man. He knelt down next to Link, whose eyelids were drooping over his clouded, veiled eyes. His head was nodding, and it soon hit his chest as he again lost consciousness. Yunsung looked to where the Master Sword was still in the tree. The sword was still glowing, but the light that came from the blade was fading slowly. Shaking his head, Yunsung got up and walked over to Talim. He put a hand on her shoulder, and she turned and embraced him suddenly, crying into his chest. He was surprised for a moment, but then he embraced her back, trying to comfort her. Xianghua walked up to the Master Sword and took hold of its hilt. She pulled on it, and it slid out as if sliding through water. She looked amazed, but then realized that the sword had helped her get it out of the tree. It had wanted to be with Link. She gingerly held it in both of her hands and started to walk back towards the dying Hylian. However, she stopped in her tracks when she heard a sound. It was the sound of an Ocarina. The Ocarina of Time floated out from under Link's shield, glowing and playing of its own accord. The song it played was one that none of them had heard before. The melody spoke of time, its never-ending flow. It spoke of endless, warm, summer days, and short, cold, winter nights. It sang of births and deaths, of love and sadness, of good times and bad. The **Song of Time**. The Ocarina glowed even brighter, and a blue light shone down from the sky. A person came down in the light, and her feet gently touched ground next to Link. The blue light soon faded, revealing the woman that had descended from it. She wore a pink dress that was ornately decorated with gold shoulder plates. She had long, blond hair that trailed down her back in waves, and she also had big, blue eyes. She knelt down next to Link's motionless form and hesitantly, gingerly, touched his wound. She pulled her hand back when more blood blossomed out of the gash, her face pained. Then she pulled something out of a pouch at her side. It was an Ocarina similar to Link's, but this one was a pale peach color, with green at the mouthpiece. The strange woman put the Ocarina to her lips and blew, a sweet melody echoing out from the instrument. She played the **Song of Time**, but it was strange and unfamiliar to everyone's ears. It took them a second to realize that the woman was playing the song backwards. Suddenly, the clouds in the sky slowed their movements to an almost crawling pace. The birds that were flying flapped their wings slowly enough to follow with painstaking sluggishness, but still stayed airborne. Even the wind in the grass seemed to slow to barely a whisper. The woman's song had slowed time. In fact, the song had nearly stopped it. Except, Talim and the others could still move normally, as if the song hadn't even been played. When she felt time slow, Talim looked up from where she had buried her face in Yunsung's chest, and looked around.

"What's going on…?" she murmured, then saw the strange woman kneeling next to Link, playing the strange song. The blood from Link's wound had practically stopped flowing, and he almost seemed to have slowed with the inverted **Song of Time**'s magic. The woman bent over the unconscious Hylian, and Talim saw that the woman also had long, pointed ears, similar to Link's. However, when the stranger reached behind Link to move him, Talim leapt forward and in between Link and the stranger.

"What are you doing?!" the 15-year-old asked fiercely. "He's dead! Can't you see that?!"

The woman looked up at her for a moment, then smiled reassuringly.

"Child, he is not dead." she said. She had a sweet, melodious voice, and somehow, Talim trusted her.

"Please stand aside. I will not harm him."

Talim hesitantly stepped out of the woman's way, still wary of the stranger. The strange woman gingerly touched Link's wound again, and then put her Ocarina to her lips again. This time she played a song that the group recognized. She played **Zelda's Lullaby**. Its sweet notes echoed out into the world, but then they seemed to direct themselves towards Link. In a moment, his face contorted, and he blearily opened his eyes and looked down at his wound in wonder. It was healing right in front of their eyes, the blood that had soaked into his tunic withdrawing into the wound. The gash itself was quickly knitting together, and within a second, there was no gash, and the hole in Link's tunic had repaired itself. He gingerly placed his hands on the ground and pushed himself into a sitting position from where he had been slumped on the ground. Then he looked around. His midnight-blue eyes were no longer clouded as he looked around at his friends and listened to the sound of the Ocarina. The song soon ended, and he looked to its player to see her smiling. When he saw her, a large smile spread across his face, and he pulled her into a gentle hug. Then he pulled away from her and looked around at his friends, an arm still around the woman's shoulders.

"Xianghua, your mother says, 'Hi.' The same goes for Mina's brother and mother, Maxi's crew, and Mitsurugi's and Taki's immediate families." he said, and they all grinned. Talim stared at him, bewildered.

"But…! You… died!!!" she stammered, and he looked at her and nodded slightly.

"Yes, I did. Well, sort of." he said, looking thoughtful. He smiled weakly. "I would've gone past the Shadow Lands if it weren't for…" he trailed off, and his face became troubled. He looked to the woman who had played the Ocarina.

"How did you get here?" he asked her, his brow creased.

"The same way you did, Link." she replied. She smiled softly at him, and he returned her smile. After a moment, he cleared his throat and shakily got to his feet. He put his shield on his back again, and looked around at everyone, then stepped slightly away from the woman, withdrawing his arm from around her shoulders as he regained his sense of up and down. Then he spoke words that stunned all of them.

"Everyone, this is Zelda, my wife."


	3. Chapter 3

SOUL CALIBUR II FROM LINK'S POINT OF VIEW

Chapter 3

Everyone gaped at Link, disbelieving, as he introduced everyone to Zelda.

"Zelda, this is Talim, Cassandra, Mitsurugi, Taki, Maxi, Xianghua, Seung Mina, Yunsung, and Heihachi." he said, and she nodded around at them all, her golden hair cascading over her back in waves.

"Good to meet you. Thank you for taking such good care of my husband." she said to them all, and Link blushed scarlet. Yunsung grinned mischievously.

"Do my eyes deceive me? Is the great Hylian blushing?" he said teasingly. Link shot him a death glare.

"Do you really want to get your tail kicked again, Yunsung?" he asked. Yunsung took a step backwards and raised his arms mockingly in a gesture of peace.

"No, I really don't." he said sarcastically. Then he dropped his hands. "Of course, I might actually be intimidated if you had actually beaten me."

Link growled and reached under his shield. He withdrew a humongous hammer from it, and drew his shield.

"Is that a challenge I hear?" he asked, his voice a low growl. Zelda huffed.

"Link, put the Megaton Hammer away." she said, putting her hands on her hips. He growled, glaring at Yunsung, then put his weapons away. Link huffed, then sat down, crossing his legs Indian-style. He also crossed his arms and glared up at Yunsung.

"Jeez… For someone who just barely escaped the clutches of death, you sure are lively." Seung Mina said teasingly. Link grumbled something in Hylian, and Zelda shot him a stern look.

"There's no need for that kind of language, Link." she said sternly, and he looked up at her, then shot a glare out of the corner of his eye at Yunsung. Finally Link 'hmphed' and stood up.

"Well, then shouldn't we be getting a move on?" he asked, looking around at everyone. They all nodded, and Xianghua stepped forward, holding out the Master Sword.

"You threw this?" she asked, and he nodded and took it from her. The blood on the blade was starting to dry, so he wiped it on the hem of a cloak that he had in his pack. Then he sheathed the sword, and they started walking again, Zelda coming with them. Link walked with her, telling her what he knew about this world, and she was listening intently. She occasionally glanced at the other members of the group, but kept mostly to herself and her husband.

"Link, I have to leave the next time we stop walking." she said, once he had temporarily finished speaking. He frowned in concern.

"Why? Is something amiss?" he asked quietly. "Is Hyrule in danger? Has someone threatened you?" She shook her head.

"No, it's just… I shouldn't be traveling or fighting." she explained. He looked confused. She took his left hand in hers.

"Link… I'm pregnant." she said quietly. His ears twitched and he looked at her, wide-eyed.

"You're… you're… what?!" he exclaimed quietly, yet loud enough for Seung Mina to overhear. She came over to the Hylian couple.

"What's wrong, Link?" she asked.

"Huh?" he said, not really paying attention as he tried to get over his initial shock.

"What's wrong?" she repeated. Zelda looked at Mina, a gentle smile present on her face.

"I have to go back to Hyrule the next time we stop." the Hylian girl said gently. "And Link and I have to start picking out names, because I'm going to have a baby." The look of shock on Mina's face was equivalent to Link's. In fact, their expressions were so alike that Zelda laughed at the sight of them. This snapped them out of their gaping and Link started asking 20 questions at once.

"When are you due? What's it gonna be? How many-?" he was suddenly cut off, however, when Zelda put two fingers over his lips.

"One question at a time, Link!" she said, smiling. "And, to most of your questions, I don't know yet. However, I do know that I'm due on _i_ _ernelde_ _Narwain_."

"'The 13th of January'?" he repeated. "The middle of winter…"

"That's a while away… But now we understand why you have to leave us so soon." Mina said. Zelda nodded, then turned to Link.

"I'll try to contact you as much as possible, ok?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Ok…" he stammered, still shocked in a good way. Then the three of them lapsed back into a different conversation, noticing that some of the nearer members of the group were staring at them. They obviously thought the trio was quite odd. At around 9:30 they stopped because it was getting dark, and Taki and Mitsurugi once again set to making a campfire. When this happened, Link again took a spot near the edge of the firelight, and sat with his back to one of the many large rocks that dotted the area. After a few minutes by the fire, Zelda came over and sat down next to her husband.

"Link? _Na nin thalion_?" she asked. He let out a sigh and looked to the heavens.

"_Odo loa_…" he whispered. "_Odo anann loa_…" Zelda's face creased in concern.

"Link, what's wrong?" she said quietly. Link shook his head.

"Nothing. I'm just thinking…" he murmured.

"About what?"

"About how when I opened the Door of Time, I felt like I fell asleep, and when I woke up 7 years later…" he trailed off wistfully, and she knew he was thinking about his younger years before he took up the duties of Hero of Time. Back when he was still innocent and very untouched by death and battles. Zelda knew that he still bore scars from his countless battles, both emotional scars and physical ones, but she couldn't love him any more than she already did. And that was with her whole heart. The only love that she had that was equal to her love for Link was her love of Hyrule. He suddenly looked down and backwards towards the rest of the group as someone had caused them all to burst out laughing. Or at least, all of them except for Talim, who bore a confused expression, and was muttering, "I don't get it…" Link chuckled a little.

"She reminds me of you and me when we were 10." he said quietly, and Zelda chuckled a little bit, too.

"Yes, she does. It's amazing that through all her 15 years she's retained that childlike innocence." she replied, and then looked at Link. She gently kissed him on the cheek, and a small smile came to his face.

"Well, I know a certain princess that is 17 who's retained her innocence for 17 years, even though she's going to have a baby now." he murmured. Then he turned his gaze back to the heavens, his eyes reflecting the clear starlight. Zelda watched him for a second, then slipped an arm around his waist. He instinctively slipped an arm around hers in return, but didn't look down at her right away. After a moment, he looked down at her face, which was turned upwards towards the stars. Then he bent down and whispered in her ear,

"I think I've thought of a name."

"Hm? For what?" she replied, snapping out of her reverie.

"Our child."

"Oh? Let's hear it, then."

"Well, I only have one for a girl. Boys' names are harder to come up with." he said sheepishly. "Well, the one that I have is… _Lorwen_, meaning 'Maiden of the Golden Light'. I think it's somewhat fitting." At this, Zelda smiled. She gently touched his right hand with her left, as those two hands were the ones closest together.

"I think that's a good name. But what if it's a boy?" she murmured, causing him to frown a little in concentration. After a moment, he looked at her, a cheesy grin on his face.

"Sorry. I can't think of any at the moment…" he said, and Zelda chuckled a little.

"You goofball!" she exclaimed, lightly punching Link in the arm. He faked an 'Ow!' and pretended to be hurt, rubbing his arm. He put on a pouting face, and Zelda burst out laughing. He screwed up his face, trying to keep from laughing. He looked behind them to the rest of the group, only to find them staring at the couple like they were crazy.

"What?!" he exclaimed indignantly, and they went back to their conversations. He shook his head, and looked back to the heavens. The stars were bright in the darkness of the night, and he closed his eyes, enjoying the evening. He spoke again in a second.

"I think I've thought of a name for if it's a boy." Zelda looked at him.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"_Silion_. 'Son Who Shines with White or Silver Light.'" he murmured, his eyes still closed. She smiled softly.

"That's a good name, too." And with that, she leaned into his arms and closed her eyes.

"…How did you know to come here?" he asked in a moment, and she opened her eyes and looked up at him. He looked down at her a second later.

"I guess… I could feel that you were in danger… Mortal danger… So I came." she hesitantly replied. He nodded, and looked back up into the heavens. She laid her head on his shoulder, her arms around him, and closed her eyes again. She wanted to enjoy his embrace while it lasted, because she'd have to go back to Hyrule in a few moments. She didn't know when she'd see him again.

A short while later, yet still longer than she had intended, she awoke in her husband's warm, sweet embrace. At first she didn't know what had awoken her, but when she looked around, she noticed that the Fairy Ocarina was ringing faintly. She sat up fully, awaking Link, who was starting to nod off next to her, and put her hand in her pouch, withdrawing the Fairy Ocarina. It was faintly glowing blue and emitting the ringing sound. Zelda frowned in recognition.

"I… guess you have to go back, now, don't you?" Link said, disappointment evident in his voice. She nodded.

"Yes…" she said quietly. Link looked behind them to the others. They were all still awake, even though it was nearing 10:00 at night. As the ringing became louder and more urgent, it attracted the attention of the others, who looked towards Zelda and Link questioningly.

"What's that ringing?" Taki asked, coming over to the Hylians.

"It's my Ocarina." Zelda slowly replied. "I have to go back…"

"Oh…" Taki said. The others all looked crestfallen, but Mina the most of all of them.

"Do you have to?" she asked, and Zelda nodded. The others were all over there, now, watching the two Hylians. Zelda rose to her feet, followed by Link, and the two walked a small way away from the rest of the group.

"I guess this is goodbye, for now…" she said quietly, and managed a small, sad smile. He couldn't manage one, though. His face was composed, but he had sad tears in his eyes.

"Yeah. Bye." he said, his voice slightly choked. She smiled and held up her left hand. He put his left hand on hers, and briefly entwined his fingers with hers. Their Triforces glowed a bright golden while their hands touched, the golden triangles reacting to each others' presence. All who saw it were awed, and all felt pity for the two who had to go their separate ways again. Soon, Link gently pulled his hand away from Zelda's, and he took a few steps backwards to join the rest of the group. She smiled, tears in her eyes, then put her lips to the Ocarina's mouthpiece. She then played the song that would take her back to Hyrule, to where she belonged. To where Link should be, too, but couldn't be until his Journey was complete. As the echoes from the **Song of Time** faded, a blue light engulfed Zelda, and a blue crystal encased her. She opened her eyes as this happened, and waved to everyone one last time. Then the crystal floated into the sky and she disappeared, the light taking her back home.

"_Namarie, Zelda vanimelda. Namarie._" Link said quietly, and a single tear streaked the side of his face. He wiped it off with his hand and turned to go back to the campsite, only to find his way barred by the rest of the group. He put his hands on his hips and looked sternly around at all of them.

"It's nearing 10:15 at night. Shouldn't we be getting some sleep?" he asked, his tone saying, 'No questions, I'm not in the mood.' They all nodded, and went back to the campsite. Link immediately sat down beneath the tree, removing his pack, sword, bow, quiver, and shield from his back in one movement, then he leaned back against the wood and closed his eyes. Talim laid down near him, climbing into her bedroll, and turned her gaze to him for the moment.

_I wonder why Zelda had to leave so soon…? _Talim thought._ He sure looked sad when she left… I'm sure she knows how to fight. I mean, why else would she come here?_ She thought for a moment longer before turning her gaze to Yunsung where he was climbing into his bedroll a few meters away from her. He caught her gaze and blushed, and they looked away from each other. Talim felt her cheeks grow red.

_Why am I blushing?!_ she mentally berated herself._ I mean, he's 3 years older than you, Talim! Why would he be interested in you?!_ She closed her eyes and quickly tried to make herself stop blushing. When everyone else was in their beds, Link's Ocarina sounded, playing **Zelda's Lullaby** again. Everyone was immediately lulled into sleep, but Link remained awake. He looked sadly to the heavens.

_Goodnight, Zelda._ he thought. _I'll see you again, my love._ And with that, he curled up next to the tree and fell asleep, descending into both nightmares and dreams.

Link awoke the next morning when the sun's first rays peeked over the horizon and into his eyes. He sat up, yawned, and stretched, then looked around. The others were all still asleep. He looked at the position of the sun. It was about 7:00. He shook his head, then pulled out his Ocarina. He put it to his lips and blew. A low note echoed out through the campsite, then changed. Link played a song that spoke of rain and lightning. Of thunder and wind. He played the **Song of Storms**. A wind picked up as he played, blowing his hat and hair around his face, ruffling his green Kokiri tunic. A second later, storm clouds formed and a couple raindrops fell onto him. Then a downpour started. Lightning clashed and thunder rumbled as he put the Ocarina of Time away, and he quickly picked up his shield and held it over his head, protecting him from the rain. As soon as the rain got soaked well into their blankets, the rest of the group jumped awake, completely soaked. Thunder roared again, and Talim jumped. Seeing Link standing there with his shield over his head like an umbrella and grinning like an idiot, she frowned.

"What did you do, Link?!" she exclaimed, and he shrugged.

"I thought an early morning shower might help some of us." he shouted back over the fresh rumbles of thunder. She glared at him, as well as the rest of them. Then they all gathered up their stuff and the group started walking.

"Don't worry. It'll stop in a few moments." Link reassured them all as they walked. They all glared at him, and he was silent. However, true to his word, the storm stopped a second later, causing the group to rejoice. For the rest of the day, no one was mad at Link, and everyone was in good spirits, talking and laughing.

Around noon they came to a large, thriving city that was built on a body of water. Its name was Venice, Italy, as they learned from Maxi as they sailed to it. As they neared the city, Link pulled his cloak out of his pack and put it on, pulling the hood up to hide his ears. As they walked through the market, people shouted prices back and forth, and others argued over said prices. The group decided to split up and restock on supplies, so they each took some money and went their own separate ways.

Link walked down a narrow alleyway to get to the other side of the row of buildings. He was looking upwards, when suddenly he felt the ground drop out from under his feet. He just barely managed to grab hold of the sidewalk to keep his head from going under the water completely. He hauled himself back up onto the walk, sopping wet, and tried to calm his heart rate. Suddenly a pair of sandaled feet stopped in front of him, and he looked up. A woman with blond hair and emerald green eyes was looking down at him.

"Are you ok?" she asked, kneeling down. She withdrew a handkerchief from a pouch at her side and handed it to Link. He nodded in thanks and as to say 'Yes, I'm ok.', then he gently dried his face off a little, where it had been splashed.

"You should probably try to watch where you're going. Venice is full of canals like this one." the strange woman said, smiling. Her smile was warm, and had a maternal sort of air to it. Link nodded, then looked at her. She reminded him so painfully of Zelda. Then he noticed that she carried a short sword and a small shield on her back.

"Hey… May I see your sword?" he asked. She looked surprised for a second, then drew her sword. Its sleek surface shone in the afternoon sunlight, and it had strange runes engraved upon its blade. Link stared at it, wide-eyed.

"That looks exactly like the sword Cassandra carries…" he murmured, and she gaped at him.

"You know Cassandra?!" she asked, surprise evident in her voice. Link nodded.

"Yes. I'm traveling with her and several others to find Soul Edge." he explained. "How do you know her?"

"I'm her older sister, Sophitia." the woman, Sophitia, explained. "I've been looking for her for a while!" She helped Link up, then sheathed her sword and took her handkerchief from Link when he handed it to her.

"Well, then. I can help you." he said cheerily. "We're supposed to meet up in an hour. I just have to run my errands first."

"May I join you?" she asked pleadingly. He nodded, and she smiled again. Then they walked back towards the market.

An hour later, the group was all assembled, except for Link. They were starting to get impatient when a cloaked figure approached Seung Mina from behind, closely followed by a woman with blond hair that was dressed like an Athenian, who was also wearing a cloak. The cloaked figure tapped Mina on the shoulder, and she spun around, instinctively bringing up her Zanbatou into a defensive position. The person took a step backwards, their hands up in a peaceful manner. This caused their cloak to pull back, revealing Link's green tunic.

"Oh, Link. It's just you." Mina said, letting out a relieved sigh. Then she turned frustrated. "We've been waiting for you for 10 minutes!" He looked confused.

"But it's been exactly an hour since we split up…" he murmured, and she looked taken aback.

"How do you know?" she asked, purely curious. He shrugged.

"I timed it. How else?" he replied, and looked around at the others. When he spotted Cassandra, he turned to the woman behind him. He gestured over his shoulder with his thumb to Cassandra, and the woman looked at the Athenian. The woman walked over to Cassandra.

"Cassandra! Why did you take the sacred weapons and go searching for Soul Edge?!" the woman exclaimed. Cassandra looked at the woman for a second before exclaiming,

"Sophitia?!" Sophitia nodded.

"Yes. Now answer my question."

Cassandra looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Because I thought you should no longer have to carry the responsibility of destroying Soul Edge. I'll destroy the blade in your stead." she explained after a moment. "So go home, Sophitia." Sophitia looked amazed at her sister for a second before a smile broke across her face.

"I can't, though, Cassie." she said, calling her sister by her pet name. "I have to destroy the blade so that my children will be freed from its curse."

"What are you trying to say, Sophie?"

"I'm trying to say that I'm going to help you." Cassandra smiled, her sister mirroring the grin. Sophitia turned to the rest of the group.

"That is, if it's ok with the rest of you. May I travel with you?" she said, and the rest of the group nodded in consent.

"Ok! Thank you all!" she said. As the afternoon was starting to wane, she spoke again.

"It's getting late. Do you all have a place to stay for the night?" she asked, and they all shook their heads. "Ok. Well, then we're in luck! I know a good inn that we can stay at. The owner owes me a free night, so we should get the rooms on the house!" Everyone grinned, and nodded.

"Sure! That sounds wonderful!" they said in unison, and Sophitia led the way to the inn. True to her word, the inn was a very nice one, and the owner gave them all rooms for the night. The boys were in two rooms, and the girls were in two more. They dropped their packs off in the rooms, then most of them headed down to the common room. A few of them, namely all six of the girls, stayed upstairs to take baths. The boys hung around the common room. Some of the younger of them lounged around, relaxing, but Link sat at a table, drinking a small glass of milk, listening to the conversations around him. He was about to get up, return his now empty glass, and go upstairs to bed when his sharp ears caught a snatch of conversation. The words 'Soul Edge' had been mentioned, and from the conversation going on, it sounded like the people were talking about the demonic sword itself. He sat back down from where he had half risen, and listened intently, his eyes on the people at the table to his left. Slowly, he tuned out all the other conversations in the room, and could only hear the two people to his left.

"…I last heard that he was in Berlin, Germany. That Nightmare character." The blond-haired man was saying to the platinum-haired woman.

"Interesting… Don't you think, Raphael?" she replied, her face calm and composed, not showing the slightest bit of emotion. Raphael nodded.

"Yes. It is very interesting indeed… considering how he was originally German." he said. "Didn't you have a run-in with him a few years ago, Ivy?"

The woman, Ivy, shook her head.

"It is none of your concern what happened to me in my past." she said icily. "I heard that he was headed for Berlin a while back. This just proves what I heard. He's probably on a killing spree again. Trying to give Soul Edge the souls it needs to become complete again.

"I think that some of the shards are here, for mine has been radiating." she added.

"I propose we find the ones who possess the shards, kill them, and take their shards. The less spread out they are, the better chance we have of destroying them, I say." Raphael looked down at his drink, then back up again to see Ivy's reaction. She nodded.

"I agree." she murmured.

"Good. Then we'll do it tonight, agreed?" he asked, and extended his hand across the table to shake hers.

"Agreed." she said, and shook his hand. As Link watched, the two got up and exited the common room, taking to the streets. He made sure they were out of sight before getting up and walking cautiously over to Maxi, eyes still on the door. The dandy was sitting in front of the fire drinking a mug of tea when Link tapped him on the shoulder. Maxi nearly choked when this happened, and whipped around. Seeing as it was Link, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Link. What's up?" the pirate asked once he'd calmed his nerves.

"We need to get the group together for a meeting. Up in our room a.s.a.p. Got it?" Link said, his face serious. Maxi's brow creased.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I can't say down here. We need to get everyone upstairs. Come on!" And with that, Link went over to Yunsung and Maxi went over to Heihachi. In 5 minutes the boys were assembled in Link's, Maxi's, and Yunsung's room. Link went across the hall and knocked on Sophitia's, Talim's, and Cassandra's door. Talim answered the knock, and blushed when she saw that it was Link, as she was barely decent. His face was grim, though, as he told her to meet him and the rest of the boys in his room a.s.a.p., and to tell Cassandra and Sophitia, too. She nodded grimly, hearing the urgency in his voice, and went to dress and tell the other two. When she closed the door, he walked to the door to the right of Talim's and knocked. Seung Mina answered, and stepped out into the hallway because she was fully clothed, though her hair was wet. Seeing the grim look on his face under the hood, she immediately closed the door behind her and listened intently as he told her to meet with the rest of the group in his room a.s.a.p., and to tell Taki and Xianghua as well. She nodded, and disappeared into her room. She reappeared a second later with the other two, at the same time as Talim, Sophitia, and Cassandra emerged from their room. All six of their hair was dripping wet, showing that they had gotten dried and dressed rather hastily. A few minutes later, everyone was crowded into Link's room, yet not too crowded. Everyone watched as Link took his hood down, earning a small gasp from Sophitia, and sat down on a chair.

"I overheard a conversation downstairs in the common room." he began. Everyone was listening to him.

"The man said something about a person… Nightmare he called him. The man, Raphael, said that this Nightmare was in some Berlin, Germany." At this, several people glanced around at each other, grim.

"The woman, Ivy, said something about Soul Edge and Nightmare going on a killing spree." Link continued, his face grim. "Then she said that she knows there are other shards in Venice, because hers has been radiating."

Several faces looked horrified, some indifferent.

"Raphael suggested that they kill us and take our shards."

"Wait a minute!" Yunsung exclaimed. "When did you hear this again?!"

"10 minutes ago down in the common room." Link replied grimly. "They said that they're going to go through with their plan, and tonight, at that." He looked grimly around at everyone.

"I suggest we either be on high alert tonight, or that we get out of Venice." he said, and the rest of them nodded grimly. "I also propose that we make for Berlin tomorrow. That's where they said Nightmare was sighted last." Everyone agreed to this, and they all agreed that they should get out of Venice that night. Then everyone went to their own separate rooms (three in three of the rooms, two in one.), and everyone packed their stuff and fell asleep. As Maxi and Yunsung slept in the beds above him (Link had preferred to sleep sitting up against the wall), Link listened intently to all the sounds out in the hall and in the surrounding rooms. About 2 hours later, at midnight, Link woke Maxi and Yunsung, and the three of them gathered their things. Then they crept silently out into the hall and knocked three times on Mitsurugi's and Heihachi's door. The two men were standing outside the door in under a minute, and Link went over and knocked three times on Talim's, Cassandra's, and Sophitia's door. At the same time, Yunsung did the same with Taki's, Mina's, and Xianghua's door. Within 30 seconds all six of the girls were out in the hallway, and the group silently moved downstairs, nerves on edge. When they reached the common room, Sophitia left a note on the reception desk, and the group headed out into the moonlit streets. They walked quickly and silently, passing from shadow to shadow, all wearing black cloaks so as not to be seen as easily. Link led the group, his sensitive ears hearing everything around them, listening for anything that sounded threatening. When they finally got to the ferry, they found a boat tied up at the dock. Link looked around a little more. Finally his far-seeing eyes spotted the ferry itself, tied up at a dock at the mainland. He inwardly groaned. Goddesses, this was not his day. Or night, for that matter.

"The ferry is tied up at a dock at the mainland. We'll have to take this boat across, then one of us'll take it back here and swim across to join the rest of the group." he quietly explained, causing the rest of the group to groan.

"Then who'll take it back? I don't think any of us can swim that far!" Heihachi exclaimed, his voice a harsh whisper in the darkness. Link looked thoughtfully at the older man for a moment before replying.

"I'll do it." the Hylian volunteered. "Hylians can run, walk, and swim for a long time without resting. I'll take it back, then I'll swim across the channel." The rest of the group looked at him as if he were crazy. He crossed his arms and looked sternly at them for a second before growling.

"Are you going to get in the boat or not?" he asked. Suddenly a glowing blue thing with wings jumped out from beneath his shield, ringing, startling even Link.

"What the-!" he exclaimed, jumping back a few feet. When he saw what the thing was, he let out a sigh of relief, his right hand over his heart. In a second, he turned, frustrated, to the glowing ball of light.

"Navi! Please don't do that again!" he hissed. The little ball of light rang again.

"Hurry, all of you! There's someone following you! One of them's a man with blond hair and a thin sword, and the other's a woman with platinum hair!" the light, Navi, hissed. Everyone saw Link pale considerably, even in the darkness of the ports. He turned to everyone else.

"Get in the boat!" he hissed. "And lay low for a few minutes! Then maybe they won't see us!" The others all scrambled and climbed into the boat. Link drew his sword and shield as they did this, his sharp eyes scanning the streets behind them. Navi fluttered around his head.

"Navi! Get down, or douse your light! You're a dead giveaway!" he hissed, and the light complied, sitting on his shoulder underneath his cloak.

"Link! They're all in the boat!" she hissed in his ear. He gave a faint nod and started to back up, carefully choosing his footing. Navi guided him, and soon he was in the boat, sheathing his sword and shield and swiftly untying the ship's rope. He took one of the oars, sitting next to Yunsung, and pulled backwards at the same time as the older man, causing the small boat to lunge forward. Soon, back on the docks, he spotted the man and woman. They seemed to be having some sort of argument, and the man pointed out to sea, straight at the little boat that the others were sailing in. The woman looked where the man was pointing, and Link saw her smirk. Then Ivy raised her sword and… Link's eyes grew wide as he saw her sword become a bladed whip, and the blades separated, floating in the air of their own accord. The woman, Ivy, spoke something to the blades, and they suddenly flew out towards the little boat, spinning like flying saw blades.

"Navi!" Link cried, and the little light flew out from under his cloak, dancing around the woman back at the dock. Link stood up in the boat, reached under his shield, and withdrew a bow and arrow. He nocked an arrow to the string and pulled it taut, sighting down the long, narrow shaft for his target.

"Link! What are you doing?!" Talim shouted at him. "You can't kill that woman! She hasn't done anything to us!" He didn't respond. Seeing what he was aiming for, he let the arrow fly. Talim shouted something at him when a look of grim satisfaction came to his face, and Navi started to fly back to him.

"How could you?!" Talim shouted. "She was innocent!" The 15-year-old punched him hard in the shoulder, standing up herself. However, Link didn't react, intently watching the spot where he had just fired the arrow. The little ball of blue light flew quickly towards them, her transparent wings fluttering as fast as they could go. As she neared the little boat, her glow was reflected off of the ten or so whirling blades that had now changed their course, making all haste back to their master.

"Those blades would've cut us to bits." Link explained, eyes still on the dock, where he could now see Raphael kneeling down next to Ivy as her whirling blades came together again, forming her sword-whip, which now lay silent at her side. "Besides, I didn't kill her. I only wounded her in the shoulder." His sapphire eyes found Talim's dark ones in the nighttime darkness.

"I have never killed unless I have absolutely had to." he said, sitting back down as Navi found a perch on his shoulder. "I've killed many things in my entire life, and those things were monsters that were threatening me and Hyrule. They all serve Ganondorf." At the name 'Ganondorf', Navi started ringing, outraged. Link looked at the little blue light, then said something in Hylian. She looked disgruntled for a second before replying in the same language. Suddenly, Sophitia spoke up.

"Link, who's that?" she asked, and Link's intense, sapphire gaze snapped over to meet her cerulean one. He smiled a little.

"This is Navi. She's been my partner and guardian fairy since I was 10." he explained. Navi flew up and around the boat, looking into everyone's faces closely before coming back to rest on Link's shoulder, which was moving as he helped Yunsung to row.

"It's nice to meet you all." she said politely. She said something to Link in Hylian, and he briefly turned a stern look to her before going back to rowing.

"It's not my fault you weren't with me when I came here." he grumbled in Basic. She made the ringing sound again, and said something else to him in Hylian.

"Yes, you did come with Zelda. At least you're here." he said, his temper starting on a slow rise. "So would you please stop bugging me about accidentally leaving you in Hyrule? I'm trying to row, here."

"Fine, Mr. Hero." she grumbled in Basic, causing everyone except Link to give her odd glances. Link, however, sent a stern glare Navi's way.

"Navi! I thought we had agreed not to speak of those things while we're here!" he exclaimed, grunting as he and Yunsung gave one last pull on the oar before the boat hit the shore and they were grounded. The little fairy gave an indignant sort of buzzing sound, said something in Hylian, and flew ashore, lighting the way for the group to clamber out of the boat. As soon as they were ashore, Link shoved the boat off, splashing as he waded in up to his knees, and he clambered back into the boat. He quickly turned the boat so that the bow was facing Venice, and started to row back. Navi flew to her Hylian friend.

"Go back, and watch over the group, Navi!" he said to her when she came within earshot, yet not shouting distance. "And don't tell them anything about our past." The fairy nodded, and fluttered back to the rest of the group.

Without the comforting light of his friend by his side, Link suddenly felt very alone as he steadily rowed back to the city on water. It was as if she had left him again, like she had after he defeated Ganondorf. But then he had had Zelda to comfort him. Not like now. He was truly alone, now, in the little boat. Even though he knew he'd see the rest of the group, as well as Navi, again in a few minutes, he still felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, like something bad was going to happen. Shaking these thoughts from his head as the bow of the boat hit the dock, he quickly clambered out and tied the small vessel up again. Looking back across the water, he saw that it was, indeed, a long way away to the mainland. His arms and shoulders were aching from rowing all that way, first with 10 other people, then alone. He immediately knew that he wouldn't make it back to the mainland swimming. He shrugged his pack off his shoulders, and started digging around in it, looking for something. He soon found it, but he was so distracted as he looked that he did not see the figure of a man walking up behind him, rapier in hand.

Suddenly Link felt a prickling sensation on the back of his neck, and rolled to the side just in time to see the tip of the man's rapier embed itself in the wood of the dock. Link looked up to see Raphael pull the sword's tip out of the wet planks, and prepare to try a stab again. Link quickly rolled out of the way of this stab as well, pulling out his sword and shield as he did so. He blocked the next strike with his shield, and countered with a blow of his own. He jumped into the air and brought the Master Sword bearing down at Raphael's head. He held up his rapier.

_Good_. Link thought. He had Raphael right where he wanted him. As Link's sword connected with Raphael's rapier, the older man blocked, just as Link had hoped. As soon as Link's blow connected, he twisted the Master Sword so that the rapier's blade was caught in between the Master Sword's blade and hilt, which curved towards the sharp tip of the sword. He thrust his blade towards himself so that Raphael's rapier was jerked out of his hand, then Link planted a very powerful kick right to Raphael's midsection, sending the man flying backwards and into the street.

Back at the mainland, Navi was hovering around the group, when suddenly she felt a prickling sensation at the back of her neck. She whipped around to look at Venice. As she looked across the black waters of the ocean, she saw two shadows moving erratically, violently on the docks. Letting out a ringing sound, she turned back to the other members of the group.

"Guys! Link's in trouble! I'm gonna go help him!" she exclaimed in her small voice that seemed to carry quite a lot for its size. The others nodded worriedly, and she flew towards Venice as fast as her wings could carry her.

Link watched, satisfied, as Raphael hit the street, momentarily unconscious, then he turned back to his pack, tossing the rapier to land near Raphael. Link sheathed his sword and put away his shield, then removed them entirely, also removing his weapon-laden belt and setting it next to his pack. He removed his cloak, and then took off his green Kokiri Tunic and his green Kokiri Hat, pulling the tunic up and over his head and just pulling his hat off, and pulled on the blue tunic he had gotten out of his pack. As the dark blue Zora Tunic slipped on over his head, he noticed a bright, blue glow coming towards him from over the water. He sighed in frustration as Navi neared him, and put his dark blue Zora hat on, too. He put his belt back on, cinching it down over his tunic. Then he sat down on the wooden planks of the dock and pulled his Kokiri Boots off. He reached for the other boots he had withdrawn from his pack, and pulled them towards him, grunting with the effort. They were the Iron Boots, and he immediately noticed the difference when he put them on. He bent down to pick up his discarded cloak, Kokiri Tunic, Kokiri Hat, and Kokiri Boots, then walked over to his pack with some effort. The Iron Boots weighed a ton, and it took an effort to walk in them out of the water.

Link bent down and put his Kokiri Boots in his pack, then folded his green Kokiri Tunic and his cloak and put them in the pack to join his boots. He then shouldered the tiny pack and was putting his sword and shield back on when Navi finally reached him.

"Link! Are you ok?!" she exclaimed worriedly. "I saw you fighting someone!" Link nodded in confirmation for both her questions. He saw Navi sigh in relief through her bright blue glow. Then he saw her look past him, and she fluttered backwards a few inches in fright.

"Link! Behind you!" she exclaimed, and he turned his head in time to see Raphael getting up, rapier in hand. He drew his sword and shield, and sluggishly turned to face the man.

_Damn! _he thought. _If only these Iron Boots were only heavy in the water!_ He backed up as Raphael charged forward, starting with a vertical attack. Link raised his shield, and the blow glanced off, but Raphael attacked again with a horizontal attack this time. Link tried to dodge, but was too slow with the Iron Boots. The blow connected with the side of his leg, slicing it open. He tried to stop stepping backwards when this happened, tried to regain his balance, but he couldn't. There was no more dock for his foot to land on. The weight of the Iron Boots dragged him down, and he toppled off the dock, falling backwards into the cold water with a great splash.

"Navi! Go back to the oth-!" Link managed to shout to his friend as he fell, but was cut off by the water entering his mouth as he was submerged. Navi punched Raphael hard on the nose before complying, knowing that Link would be ok.

The entire group was watching as Navi's blue glow found Link, as he was near enough to see. They could see the Hylian clearly in the blue light as he nodded to something that Navi had said. Then they watched in horror as a figure loomed up behind the Hylian. Link turned his head and drew his sword and shield and turned sluggishly to face his opponent. The man attacked with a vertical attack, which Link blocked, backing up as fast as he could, yet still painfully sluggishly. They barely had time to wonder why he was moving so slow when the other man slashed at the Hylian with a horizontal strike which connected with his leg when he tried to dodge the blow. Suddenly, Link toppled over the side of the dock, falling faster than was normally possible, and he cried something to Navi before he was completely submerged in the salty seawater. He did not resurface. Navi punched the other man hard on the nose, then she started to fly back towards the others as fast as she could. When she reached them, she was perfectly calm, unaffected by the seeming death of her old friend.

"Navi! What happened?! Where's Link?!" Talim asked the fairy frantically. "Why isn't he resurfacing?! And why did you just leave him like that?!"

The fairy chuckled a little.

"He won't resurface." she said, and the group looked mortified. "Don't worry, though." And she left it at that, though many of them started to frantically yell at her to tell them what she meant by 'Don't worry'. Yunsung had just grabbed the little fairy when they heard a great splashing sound, and a sloshing of water, and they all turned to see a great glob monster emerging from the sea. It was covered in seaweed, and was oddly shaped, its black form a silhouette against the night. It was darker even than the darkness of the midnight sky around them, blacker than black.

"It's a _kappa_!!" Heihachi exclaimed, backing away from the thing along with the rest of the group. The monster, which had been sluggishly walking towards them, suddenly stopped and tilted its head to the side. Navi struggled to get out of Yunsung's grip, and succeeded, flying over to illuminate the monster. It had seaweed hanging from it, and the black stuff was hanging in front of its face. It said something in a strange, burbling language. Navi laughed confusedly.

"Link! You've got seaweed in your mouth. Take it out before you talk!" The monster turned its head to the side, and spit something dark out of its mouth. Then it coughed a few times, doubling over, then falling to its hands and knees, falling into a coughing fit. A splattering sound was heard as it coughed something up, and Navi flew over to its face and pulled the seaweed off of its head, revealing golden locks and a scrunched up face that was coughing up water. It was Link. Talim jogged over to Link, the rest of the group following close behind, and kneeled in front of him, putting a hand on his seaweed-covered shoulder. In a few moments he had gotten all the water out of his lungs, and he sat back on his haunches, catching his breath. He pulled seaweed off of his shoulders and arms, and then pulled it out from where it had gotten tangled in his belt. In a few minutes, he was completely seaweed free.

"Link, are you alright?" Talim asked him as he pulled off his hat, revealing long, golden hair tied back in a ponytail.

"Eh?" he asked, tilting his head to the side, looking confused. He held up a finger to tell her to wait a second, then he smacked the side of his head that was facing the sky. Some water fell out of his right ear, the one that was facing the ground, and then he repeated the process, tilting his head the other way. A second later, his head was upright again.

"Ok. Repeat the question now that I can actually hear you." he said, and she smiled a little.

"Are you ok?" she asked, and he nodded, wringing the water out of his now dark blue hat.

"Yes, I'm fine. But if there's one thing I hate about the Zora Tunic, it's that your lungs get filled with water." he said, setting his pack down on the sand. He opened it and withdrew a pair of boots, a green tunic, a green hat, and a cloak. Then he took his belt off and pulled his dark blue tunic off over his head. He quickly pulled the other tunic on and put his belt back on, then put the other hat on over his wet hair, the majority of it going into the hat so that only his bangs and some of the hair on the back of his neck was visible. Surprisingly, the tunic and hat were dry, and so were the other boots and the cloak. Link stood up, picking up his sopping wet, discarded tunic, and turned around. His feet sunk deep into the sand as he walked, and he seemed to have to make a great effort to lift his feet. He wrung out his sodden tunic and then turned back to his supplies. Sitting down on the sand, he pulled his boots off and put the other ones on, dumping the water out of the now discarded ones as he did so. He seemed to strain to just lift them, and when he set them down, they sunk into the sand as if a ton of bricks was sitting on top of each one. As Link put the dark blue tunic and hat in his pack, Talim bent and tried to lift the other boots to put them in Link's pack, trying to help him. However, she couldn't lift them for anything. When he noticed her straining to lift the boots, Link's brow creased in a frown.

"Talim! Stop trying to lift those before you hurt something!" he said, and she stopped. "I'll get them." He got up and bent down over the boots. He scooped his hands under them as much as he could, and tried to lift them. When he couldn't, he went back over to his pack. This time, he withdrew a pair of gauntlets. They had plates of silver running down the outsides of them, and Link slipped them on over the ones he was already wearing. Then he tried lifting the boots again. This time he lifted them easily and set them in his pack, earning curious and awed looks from the rest of the group. Then he removed the Silver Gauntlets and set them in the bag, too. Shouldering his small pack, he also buckled the Master Sword and his shield onto his back before turning to the others.

"We'd better get moving." he said, and they all nodded. "The man and woman who tried to attack us were the ones I told you about, the ones who were talking in the common room." He added hastily as they started walking. The others all nodded. Navi was perched on Link's shoulder, shedding light in his path, enough to light his feet so that he could see where he was going. Again he walked in the front of the group, listening for any signs of danger. Every once in a while he would cough, always stifling it so that almost no one heard, but the others could see the way the coughs harshly racked his body in the blue light shed by Navi. After a while, Talim walked up next to Link and looked up into his face. It was blank, but she could read in his eyes that he was in pain, though not much.

"Link?" she asked, and his eyes flicked to her once to show he was listening. However, he kept his eyes on the road ahead after that, determined to not trip and fall.

"Yeah? What's up?" he asked, his gaze scanning the ground and road ahead of him.

"Are you alright?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Yeah. I'm fine." he replied, and she nodded slightly.

"Yeah? Well, if you start not feeling well, tell someone." she said, and he nodded. Then Talim fell behind him again to talk with Sophitia and Xianghua.

"Yeah. Like you've ever told anyone when you're not feeling well." Navi muttered to him in Hylian. He shot her a stern look, but kept walking. Soon it started raining. Grumbling something about rain and people trying to kill him, Link pulled his cloak out of his pack and put it on, fastening it around his neck and pulling his hood up. Navi took shelter under his cloak, as well, sitting on his shoulder and pulling the fabric up over her head and clutching it tightly around herself, her wings folded behind her. Within a half an hour, the group was soaked to the bone. Link had long since lost all feeling in all his limbs, but he kept walking, keeping to himself. An hour after it started raining, Link found a cave a little ways from the road, and the group went to it, seeking shelter. However, they found it to already be inhabited by someone. The someone in question was curled up a short way into the cave, asleep and as soaked as they were. His brown hair was about shoulder-length, and he had a red coat that he was using as a blanket for his shivering form. However, even that didn't do much good, as the coat in question was soaked through, just like the man's brown pants and hair. Link was about to back out of the cave when the man suddenly woke up, sitting up and looking around, sharp-eyed. His hand came to a staff lying on the ground next to him, and he got into a stance as he instantly spotted Link. Link raised his hands in a peaceful manner, and spoke.

"We don't want to hurt you." he said, but the man still didn't lower his staff, eyes narrowing. Link took another step backwards, raising his hands into a defensive posture.

"My name's Link." he tried again. "Some friends and I came upon this cave, and we hope to find shelter from the storm here." He started to back away, but Xianghua suddenly pushed her way to the front of the group, looking around. Suddenly, her eyes grew wide as they fell on the man.

"Kilik?!" she shouted, and ran up to him, her hood falling back to reveal her face. He was equally stunned to see her.

"Xianghua?! It really is you!" he exclaimed as she ran up and hugged him around his bare midriff, much like someone would hug their brother. He returned her embrace, then turned his brown-eyed gaze back to the others.

"But who are these others?" he asked her as she let go of him. Her face turned grim.

"These are the warriors I've been traveling with." she explained. "Kilik, Soul Edge is back." His face turned grim as well, but he nodded.

"I know. I sensed its return." he said quietly. Then he remembered the others, and beckoned for them all to come inside. When they were all seated and out of the soaking rain, cloaks off (except for Link, who thought it better to leave his on, hood up, and Maxi, who just was too stubborn to take his off, hood and all), Xianghua started to explain to Kilik just what was going on. A while later, Kilik had learned all that the group knew, and was sitting in thoughtful silence, contemplating all the knowledge he now possessed.

"I see… Well, I was headed to Berlin anyway, so…" he murmured, and everyone nodded.

"Come with us." said Yunsung, looking almost defiantly at Kilik. Kilik looked back at the 18-year-old in the same way, and they stared at each other for a moment, as if challenging each other to a fight. After a moment, Kilik nodded, still not removing his eyes from Yunsung's in a challenging stare. Eventually, Link grew aggravated with the silent stalemate and stood up.

"Alright, then. It's settled." he said, causing the two of them to look up at the same time, breaking the contest. He walked to the cave's entrance and spoke, not looking back.

"We set out for Berlin in the morning. For now, get some sleep." he said. "I'll be back in a little while." He glanced back at the others and then walked out into the pitch black of the night, through the waterfall of pouring rain that was the entrance of the cave.


	4. Chapter 4

Here's a few words of long-overdue thanks to all of my terrific reviewers! Thank you thank you thank you! I'm sorry I didn't put a thing for reviews in the last chapter, and I'm extremely sorry I didn't update for a while. I'm going to be swamped with homework and life in general, so I don't know how long it'll be 'til I can update again. Well, anywho…

JairukazeShirokaze- Don't fret about the too many people thing. There'll be less soon. (no character death!)

Korrd- Thanks a heap!

enigma- Thank you for the compliments! Yes, I've played The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I have its guide, too, and I have the guide to Soul Calibur II, as well. I also own a copy of the game. And I'd be glad to help you with the Zelda stuff. I've also played The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask and LoZ: Link's Awakening and A Link to the Past: Four Swords. I haven't played any other SC games, though.

kat-SageOfWisdom-princessZel- Thanks!

Xiao-Darkcloud- Link doesn't use the Zora Mask in this fic because I… uh, to tell the truth, I don't really like Majora's Mask enough to use any of its stuff in here. I personally like Ocarina of Time much better. No, Tatl's not gonna be in here, either, b/c Navi's in here, and I don't know what the Fierce Deity's Mask does, so I don't think it's going to be in here, either. Sorry! I hope that answers some of your questions, though. -

frozen-sword- Don't worry. Link won't die. He's one of my favorite characters, too. -

Disclaimer: I know I forgot to do this in the previous 3 chappies, but here goes. I do not own anything in this fic. The Legend of Zelda™ belongs to Nintendo and SCII™ belongs to Namco.

* * *

SOUL CALIBUR II FROM LINK'S POINT OF VIEW

Chapter 4

Though he would never admit it even under pain of death, Link was feeling quite miserable. He had a cough that wouldn't go away, and he had had quite the time trying to hide it while everyone was discussing information with Kilik in the cave. As soon as he a good ways away from the cave, a hundred paces at the least, he dissolved into a coughing fit, all the coughs he had tried to hide since he used the Zora Tunic coming out in one fell swoop. He inwardly cursed his lack of judgment for neglecting to bring his potions with him- he could really use the red one at the moment.

As the coughing fit subsided, he straightened up into a standing position from where he had doubled over, looking around. Soon he spotted what he was looking for, a little ways to his left. It was an herb that he had learned about early on in his life. It was called _úgirithring_, 'no cough'. Kneeling in the pouring rain, Link withdrew a small knife from inside his boot and swiftly cut a good number of leaves off of it. He put a piece of one into his mouth and put the rest in a pouch at his belt, and then he started searching again. The next plant that he was looking for was only a couple of meters from the first one. This one was called _úengwa_, 'not sickly'. He cut more of this plant than he had of the other, for this one would be used throughout the whole group. And then he went searching for one more thing. For this he had to search a little harder, searching more even after he found some of it.

When he finally returned to the cave about 20 minutes after he left, he had his cloak drawn fully closed with his arms inside, carrying a large item. As he walked back into the cave absolutely silently, Talim came up to him. He shook some of the water off of his head and shoulders, and moved towards the center of the area. He bent down in the midst of the group and set down some miraculously dry wood, and then he walked over to his pack. He rummaged through it for a few moments before withdrawing a tinderbox and returning to the wood.

"Is it ok if we start a fire? We're all soaked to the bone, including you, Kilik." he said, and the man in question nodded, as did the rest of the group. Link nodded in acknowledgement and, choosing a few logs and some twigs, set to creating a blazing fire. He had one going in less than 2 minutes, and everyone sighed with relief as the warmth of the flames washed over them. Link walked back to the entrance of the cave and looked out into the cascading rainwater, the sheer wall of wetness that he had just trumped through to get firewood and the herbs. Concerned, Talim arose and walked over to stand next to him.

"What's on your mind?" she asked, and he glanced over at her. After a second he shook his head.

"Nothing." he murmured, and her brow furrowed at the hoarseness in his voice.

"There is something wrong, I know it! I can hear it in your voice!" she exclaimed. Seung Mina, overhearing this conversation, came over, her staff's end clunking hollowly on the stone floor of the cave.

"Talim, why don't you go get warmed up a little?" she said, and Talim looked up at the older woman, confused and indignant, before she registered the hidden meaning behind Mina's words. Finally she nodded, and abandoned her post, Mina taking her place. They were silent for a moment before she spoke at last.

"If you die here, what will happen to Zelda and your baby?" she asked quietly. He didn't answer immediately, continuing to stare out into the pouring rain, and she had nearly given up on getting an answer when he replied.

"I… don't know." His face was grim, and he suddenly seemed much older than his mere 17 years. "I've often contemplated that general question, in Hyrule and here. I do not know what would happen."

"Well, we're going to find out quite soon if you don't warm yourself and dry off." she said, not looking at him, but away and to the ground.

"… I've already lost my mother and my brother to illness." she finally murmured, grief coloring her tone. "I do not want Zelda to face that same grief. I also do not want to lose one of my friends. Just… please stay healthy, for the rest of the group if not for Zelda." Link was silent for several long moments, as was she, and she turned around to go back to the fire.

"I'm sorry, Mina." he suddenly murmured, startling her.

"For what?"

"Your mother and brother."

"Why? You never even knew them." He looked at her solemnly, his blue eyes staring out at her from under his deep hood.

"I know what it is like… to lose a loved one." he whispered quietly, looking down. "7 years ago, my best friend, Arphenon, caught a strange, new disease." She looked up into his eyes as his hood slipped down slightly, and was surprised to see tears in his midnight-blue orbs. "It slowly destroyed him from the inside out. First it destroyed his body, crippling him, and then it destroyed his mind." He held out his right arm and pulled the sleeve up, revealing a long, jagged, pink scar that ran from his shoulder down to his wrist. It still wasn't healed fully- it never would be.

"This is what happened just before…" he trailed off, shaking his head. "I'd just returned from gathering herbs one day, and I entered his house to administer to him. He was delusional, and didn't recognize me because of it. He took a whittling knife that I'd left there that morning…" Link shook his head again, the painful memory coming back vividly to him as he pulled his shirt sleeve back down, hiding the terrible scar. "I used to be able to wield swords in both hands at once. After that incident, I was never able to properly wield a sword with my right arm ever again. That is why I use a shield with my right arm." He sniffed once, blinking away tears, and turned around to face the firelight. "Arphenon died 2 days later in his sleep. His heart had failed his body, and I and my other closest friend, Saria, buried him in the Lost Woods. I've never gone back to that part of the woods again." Mina looked at him with something akin to pity as he slowly walked over and sat down next to the fire, keeping his sopping cloak drawn around him as he shivered slightly. Then she sighed and walked over, settling for a spot next to Kilik, as there were no other seats left. After a while the group started to thin out, gradually opting for sleep, and soon the only ones left awake were Kilik, Link, and Mina. Link leaned against the cave wall, his eyes closed as he lost himself in his thoughts of home and his Journey. Watching him for several moments, Mina barely registered the firelight dying before it began to come back to life and she realized that Kilik had put another log on the blaze. As he sat back down next to her she gave him a small smile and then looked back into the heart of the flames.

"How long has it been, Mina?" Kilik asked suddenly, his voice quiet in the dark of the cave. She looked over at him for a moment before again turning her gaze to the fire.

"…Four years, I guess." she softly replied at length. "After we parted ways, I went back to the dojo. I kept hoping and praying that you'd come for me, but it never happened. You just disappeared out of my life." She didn't meet Kilik's gaze, the both of them staring into the dancing flames as she spoke. "I truly did want to spend the rest of my life with you, Kilik." She finally looked up at him as he looked down at her.

"Mina…" he murmured, his brow creasing. She smiled a little.

"Kilik, we were both young." she whispered. "Neither of us were really ready to settle down and start a family. Besides, my father wants me to marry Hwang, still."

"Do you want to marry him?"

"…" Mina looked down at her hands in her lap. "…No, I really don't. I mean, he's a good friend, but… I don't want to spend my years with him." Kilik nodded, and the two of them went back to staring into the fire. A few meters away, two midnight-blue eyes watched the pair with weary interest as their owner smiled slyly. He was going to have fun playing matchmaker.

* * *

Whew… Took a long time to get that one up… Sorry about that, everyone. And I'm sorry it's such a short chappie. -' I had a bit of writer's block. But I think I'm over that now. Methinks I've got most of the big events in the plot figured out. I can't wait until I update next! You guys are all so nice! 


	5. Chapter 5

Hey, guys. Sorry for the really late update. I've got end-of-the-year finals coming up, so my mother is hounding me about that, and I've got almost no drive to write in this story, unfortunately. More info at the end. Also, I kind of hit a little bit of writer's block, so I had some trouble writing this chapter. But I can't wait until The Legend ofZelda: Twilight Princess comes out! I'm so excited! BTW, that's the new game for anyone who didn't know.Anyways, to the Wall of Thanks!

Xiao-Darkcloud - Don't worry, I never give up on any of my stories. And thanks for the description of the Fierce Deity's Mask, but I don't think I'm going to use it. Sorry!

Hylian Dragoness – I know that the language I'm using is Elvish. I figured since Hylians have pointy ears like Elves, and since I don't know the Hylian language, I substituted Elvish instead of Hylian. Heh heh. Ok?

ChaosFox – Thanks for the compliment. And don't worry, something will happen soon. -

Dante – Thanks! And no, I don't think I'm going to bring Spawn into the fic. Sorry, but I don't have the Xbox game, and neither does my brother, and I don't have a clue about anything about Spawn, at least as far as his attitude and fighting moves. Stuff like that. Sorry!

Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Calibur II. Own Soul Calibur II, I do not. Belongs to Namco, it does.

* * *

SOUL CALIBUR II FROM LINK'S POINT OF VIEW

Chapter 5

Link turned his head from side to side, midnight blue eyes questing for some way that the whole group could travel together. However, he saw no other options, and turned to the rest of them, swiveling his mount to meet their gazes under his hood.

"It looks like we'll have to split up." he said, an air of finality about his voice. "One group will take the right-hand path; the other will take the left one." They all nodded, and started to turn their horses towards whichever path they wanted to take. Soon everyone was ready to go, and Link blinked, having expected them to want him to divide them up. Five stood at the entrance to the right path, and the other six stood at the entrance to the left path. A small smile came to his lips, and he walked his steed over to stand next to Mina, Kilik, Yunsung, Talim, and Sophitia.

"Alright. We'll meet in Berlin in 2 weeks." Link announced calmly. Suddenly he seemed to remember something, and withdrew a wooden flute from a pouch on his horse. He looked up at Cassandra, Mutsurugi, Taki, Maxi, Xianghua, and Heihachi opposite his own group.

"Can any of you play a flute?" Link asked. Cassandra extended her hand.

"I can." she volunteered. Taki and Xianghua also raised their hands as Link nodded.

"Good." he said, tossing the flute to Cassandra, who caught it with ease. "If you run into trouble and need to contact us, play that and at least one of us will answer." He took his Ocarina out of his belt pouch. "Here's the song you'll need to play. Repeat after me." Slowly he played six notes, and Cassandra, putting the flute to her lips, repeated the tune at the same speed, making sure she got it right. It was the song that Zelda had played, the day a week ago when Link had almost died; he also played it on many nights when they had trouble sleeping. **Zelda's Lullaby**. Once Cassandra had successfully played it back to him, Link nodded.

"Great." he said. "Like I said, we meet in Berlin in 2 weeks. If you are not there by then, we'll contact you via ocarina or flute, and figure out what to do from there on. Good luck!" And with that they all went their separate ways, one group of six heading towards the Northeast, the other to the Northwest. Navi the fairy, perched on Link's shoulder, murmured a small prayer in Hylian, as they rounded a bend and the others vanished from their sight. Link caught sight of Sophitia saying a prayer as well.

_May Din, Nayru, and Farore bless your path, all of you._ he thought, his mind drifting to the other group. _May you come safely to Berlin so that we may continue on our journey_. He watched the Northeastern path for a second longer, and then urged his horse into a walk, catching up with the other five as the wind began to pick up.

* * *

Yunsung fidgeted a little atop his burgundy steed, Talim's chestnut mare walking along beside his. He kept glancing over at the young Asian girl, his own red hair being tossed about by the wind that had blown up. Vaguely he wondered if she was cold- she was barely wearing anything by even Seung Mina's standards, and Mina was no better off. Yunsung shook his head a little. Why did he care if she was cold or not? He went back to watching the path, his sharp brown eyes scanning the mountainsides for anything out of the ordinary. 

"Yunsung?" came a voice from his right, and he inwardly cursed. It was Talim.

"What?" he replied, deciding to use a question to answer a question. She was silent for a second, and he wondered if he had sounded harsh.

"I think there's something wrong with Link." she finally said, her voice low. She steered her mare a little closer to his so that they could talk quietly with more ease.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but he's been acting strange since the incident at Venice." she murmured. He chuckled, full of a sort of carefree mirth.

"Talim, he acts strange all the time." he got out.

"I mean stranger than he usually acts." she retorted irritably. "I'm sort of worried. He's been more quiet and withdrawn than usual, and he hasn't played his Ocarina as much. Do you think he's sick?" He shook his head, still grinning.

"Nah. If he was sick, I'm sure he'd tell us." he said. She furrowed her brow (which Yunsung thought was quite cute, actually), but remained silent, and they continued on their cold, long ride.

Meanwhile, Kilik and Seung Mina were having thoughts similar to Talim.

"Kilik, he has been quite quiet lately. Let's go see if we can find out what's wrong." Mina said, and pulled her horse into a slow walk so that Link's horse, a mare with a black coat and white mane, was walking beside hers. Kilik followed suit, falling into step on Link's other side.

"Link, you ok?" Mina asked. He blinked a couple of times before looking over at her confusedly.

"Huh?" he said innocently. "What do you mean? I'm fine." She scowled at him.

"Link, you've been acting strangely." she said condescendingly. "Don't think none of us have noticed. You've been quieter than usual, and you haven't played your Ocarina as much lately. You act as if you are ill." Link shook his head.

"I'm fine, really." he said with a smile. On his other side, Kilik rolled his eyes.

"No, you're not." he stated matter-of-factly. "Your breathing is labored, and I've heard you coughing. You sound as if there was some kind of horn lodged in your throat." Link scowled at the Asian man from under his hood before turning his gaze back to the path.

"I'm fine." he said stiffly. "And for your information, I do not have a horn lodged in my throat." He added this last part with a hint of mischief in his voice, a small smile playing with the corners of his mouth. Mina giggled silently, but Kilik only rolled his eyes.

"That's what they all say." he said. "Then they end up coming down with pneumonia. Just don't say we didn't warn you." With that, Kilik rode up to keep pace with Talim and Yunsung, where they rode several meters in front of Link and Mina, Sophitia behind them. Once the other man was gone, Link turned to Mina.

"You like him?" he asked, deciding to skip straight to the point. Mina choked on air and turned beet red.

"N-N-No!" she stuttered. Now it was Link's turn to roll his eyes.

"Oh, come on, Mina. I've been in love before." he teased, taking one hand off of his horse's reins to poke Mina in the shoulder, an evilly mocking tone in his voice. Turning forward again, a triumphant smirk playing with his cherubic features, he quietly added: "I see the looks you two have been giving each other." She sputtered indignantly.

"Are you saying I look like some love-struck puppy!" she accused him, balling up a fist and waving it threateningly. He laughed before kicking his mount into a run.

"Yes!" he hollered back at her as he rode off. She gave a cry of outrage, giving chase.

"Crap!" Link choked out through his laughter, and sped past a bewildered Kilik, Talim, and Yunsung. When they looked back and saw Mina chasing after Link, they happily moved aside for her to get past, and she gratefully took the opportunity, racing ahead. As she passed a boulder, she chopped a handful of snow and ice off of the hunk of stone with her zanbatou, caught the frozen water, and packed it into a ball with her hands before taking careful aim. Once her target had been acquired, she let the snowball fly. Throw. Whiz. Splat. One Hylian with snow down his cloak. Mina smirked triumphantly as Link released some colorful curses into the cold air and reined in her horse as he did the same. She continued up to her hooded friend at a slow trot, watching him try to get some of the cold stuff out of his cloak, and pulled her horse to a stop next to him.

"You gonna take it back, or do I have to put more snow down your shirt?" she asked smugly, and punched him in the shoulder. He sighed heavily, not actually harmed by the blow.

"I guess, if I have to." he said with a roll of midnight-blue eyes. They waited for the others to catch up, and they stopped when they reached the two.

"What was that about?" Sophitia asked bewilderedly. Mina smiled sweetly.

"Nothing. Link and I just had a disagreement, but now we see eye to eye." she replied cheerfully. The others except for Link all exchanged confused glances before shrugging, and their ride continued.

* * *

Snow whipped into his face, blinding him to everything past two feet in front of his nose, and he pulled his cloak tighter around him, gripping his horse's reins with his left hand. Link looked behind himself to the others. They weren't faring much better than he was. 

"We should stop for the night!" he called back to them. "We can't go much farther, anyways! The horses need a rest, and we can't see where we're going! Let's find some shelter!" There came an affirmative sign from one of them- he couldn't tell which- and he turned his midnight-blue gaze back to the path in front of him. Carefully he led his horse down the now down-sloping path, the animal's hard hooves slipping slightly on the ice and rock as it walked. He just hoped that they could find some sort of shelter soon.

* * *

This one is sorry that the chapter was so short and seemed like it was unfinished! Gomen nasai! Argh! This one is running out of ideas! This one needs inspiration! This one may have to put this story on temporary hiatus until this one gets more ideas! Currently, this one is in the mood for writing Final Fantasy VII songfics. This one has two of them currently posted, so if any of you are interested, you can read them. They're both CloudxTifa, romance/angst. More angst in the first one, Angel, than in the second one, Toki No Hourousha. Well, this one will attempt to update again soon, so until then, "May God bless you and hold you in the palm of His hand." Arigato, and sayonara! 

Fanatic

P.S. If anyone has any questions for this one, you can e-mail this one at harrypotterrms (at) hotmail (dot) com. muttering Criffin' website, won't let this one put a link on it... end muttering


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